


Going Home

by whatarubberchicken



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Death, Gen, Gen Fic, That's it, but in the nice way, but seriously, im killing everyone, that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23177485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatarubberchicken/pseuds/whatarubberchicken
Summary: Sooner or later, everyone has their time to go. But for some, it's more like... going home.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Going Home

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags, silly as they are. Character deaths are ahead.

Shiro had gone first. While nobody _liked_ getting that particular call, they’d all been relieved that it hadn’t been long and drawn out like his illness had threatened so many years ago. Instead, the heart attack had taken him quickly in his sleep.

Small favors. The universe was still just a little bit darker for its loss.

Of course, the Garrison had given him one final bit of grief; they refused to honor his wishes to be buried in space. Instead, they started work on a huge memorial for him on Earth. Takashi Shirogane was still their poster boy, after all, and more than half of their recruits signed up because they wanted to be just like _him_.

They didn’t count on Keith, still very much willing to give the Garrison the middle finger when it came to Shiro and having many years of stealth missions under his belt full of lockpicks.

By the time the Garrison discovered the body was missing, Shiro had been cremated and spread through several of his favorite galaxies.

His friends and family (including Keith, who’d innocently been on a mission at the time of the theft, don’t look at him like that!) knew nothing about it, of course. Would the Garrison like to have somebody come say a few words in Shiro’s honor at this get-together they were having in place of a funeral? (The representative was certain that every single person at that party smirked at him when they thought his back was turned, but the Garrison had no _proof_. And never would, if the Blades had anything to say about it. They had gotten very good at having all their paperwork in order.)

At the gathering, his family and friends celebrated Shiro’s life and the many years that had been given to him. Their tiny rag-tag family had blossomed into so much more, and there were several children and five grandchildren at the party who all proudly bore his name. The adults at the party traded stories and laughed about how each of them was going “white as Shiro”—Pidge had some awesome highlights in her hair and Lance kept stubbornly trying to dye his back to brown. (Keith’s locks were the last to fade from black, which frustrated Lance to no end.) And even though there was hardly an eye that stayed dry that night, nobody dared act like it was an actual funeral. Shiro had treated each day as a gift, a second chance. They couldn’t do any less as they remembered him. Pidge even joked that he would’ve insisted he go first, because he was their leader; he had to make everything ready for them. They’d all laughed in agreement and followed her in another toast to their departed friend.

She was the next to go.

‘A laboratory accident,’ they called it on paper. ‘She’d been too old to evacuate quickly enough.’

In truth, everyone on her team had known that the stuff they were dealing with was dangerous. Pidge had stayed behind on purpose and made sure the rest of the scientists evacuated. By the time they got to her, what was left had blearily asked if everyone had gotten out okay. They’d reassured her that they had and held her hand as she breathed her last.

It wasn’t until the inquiry was underway that the investigators discovered some tiny vine-like plants growing in many of the doorways to the lab; they had slowed the spread of the fire and dissolved whatever top-secret toxic substance the scientists had been working with. Without those plants, the investigators realized, the damage would’ve been total; all personnel lost.

The scientists had been flummoxed; they hadn’t been working with plants! Team Voltron had just smiled sadly, though, and suggested they look for other ways to use the plants as well; there was sure to be more than one use for them if Pidge was involved.

They ended up saving five planets that were close to destruction from deforestation; including Earth.

Hunk was next, so soon it left their heads spinning. Cancer had evolved along with humanity’s efforts to rid themselves of it, and when he learned how far along it was, he didn’t even try to fight.

“She needs me, guys,” he said, giving Keith and Lance a simple shrug when they tried to talk him into more experimental treatments. “I’ve got to go before she starts double-modulating everything.”

_It wasn’t that they hadn’t had long, fulfilling lives,_ Keith thought, as he and Lance stood before the graves of their friends. _It was just that it never got any easier to say goodbye._

They’d reassured themselves over the fact that Hunk had been able to die as peacefully as he’d lived. The funeral had been massive and there were already plans to hold an intergalactic cook-off each year in his honor.

They were both looking forward to that. It’s what Hunk would’ve wanted.

…

And now, even more years later, he and Lance found themselves back in the desert. Keith’s old house had undergone some serious renovations over the past few decades; all needed because their still-growing found family was so big. Still, it was a good place to come home to when the hustle and bustle of the Garrison or the Atlas became too much.

Keith poured himself a cup of coffee and slowly sipped it as he watched the sun rise from his porch. An old habit, but still one of his favorite things to do. He noted how his hands shook a bit when he carefully put the cup down and gave his joints a little rub; his arthritis didn’t like early mornings half as much as the rest of him did.

For the first time in a long time, Keith felt content. Growing older had slowly but surely reduced the number of adventures and exploring he’d been able to do, and quite honestly, the idea of spending the next few years bedridden and being spoon-fed porridge while slowly withering away had never appealed to him. His dream last night, though; the bright smiles and laughter of his friends surrounding him… all of it promised something much more. Something he could look forward to.

And for the first time in years, Keith felt like he could breathe again.

_“Being a crabby old fart is not a good look for you,” Pidge had said firmly, glaring at him from the behind glasses she hadn’t worn in years._

_“I must be losing my touch, then,” Keith had joked back. “I thought being broody was one of my best character traits.”_

_She’d rolled her eyes at him._

He grinned at the thought and reached down to pat the old cosmic wolf at his side; one of Kosmo’s grandpuppies, who’d decided to adopt Keith when the older wolf passed on. She’d also taken a shine to some of the new kids in the family, Keith mused. So, there was no reason to worry. Especially not with the contents of his dreams last night.

Almost as if he could sense Keith’s thoughts, the wolf raised her head and gave his hand a lick.

“Yeah,” Keith said, smiling at his friend when she whined out a question. “Almost time to go.”

_“How the heck have you two held on this long?” Hunk had asked, shaking his head at them. “I honestly thought you would’ve killed each other by now!”_

He stood up and stretched, grimacing when his bones ached and his joints popped. Lance liked to say that they’d leveled up to the point where they could make their own sound effects, but Keith just felt _old_. He went back inside and started the long climb back up the stairs.

Once upon a time he could literally run up the walls of this house _,_ he mused, tracing the scuffmarks that were still there from when he’d done exactly that. As he made his way upstairs, he could hear various movements in the bedrooms; like him, people were already getting ready for the day, despite the early hour.

He pushed open the first door on his right, unsurprised to see its occupant still sleeping. If given the choice, Lance would sleep until noon.

“Hey,” he called softly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. If there was one thing everyone in their family had learned, it was to not try to wake someone by touch or with a loud, banging noise. There was only so much therapy any of them could take.

Sure enough, Lance stirred, mumbling something the sounded like a name before waking up completely. “Oh, hey, Mullet,” he mumbled, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

Keith rolled his eyes as he crossed to the bed. “I thought we agreed you couldn’t call me that anymore,” he said, waving the end of his white braid at Lance. Keith had kept his hair long enough to braid for years now.

“Ehh, it’s still a ‘party in the back,’” Lance shrugged, stretching and sitting up beside him, “it’s just a bit more… twisted.” Keith huffed, but decided not to argue it further. Lance could be stubborn about the strangest things.

“Did you… sleep well?” he asked carefully, unsure how to bring up the conversation he wanted to have.

“Yeah,” Lance said, stretching and wincing at his own cracking joints. “Had some weird dreams, though.”

“Me too,” Keith smiled. He should’ve known. Of course Lance would be included in this! He hated being left behind. “I dreamed about lions,” he added, giving Lance a pointed look when the other old man stopped and blinked at him.

Lance stared at him for another moment and then huffed out a laugh, running his fingers through his white hair.

“Pidge was scolding me,” he admitted, a soft smile spreading on his face. “Kept saying I was late or something.” Keith was pleased to see he didn’t look scared or apprehensive at all. More like… relieved. Just like Keith.

“And here everyone thought we’d be the first to go,” Keith laughed.

“Well, yeah. _Somebody_ likes to dive off cliffs on hoverbikes,” Lance gave him a pointed glare and they both laughed again.

“So,” Keith said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, “you wanna go for a hoverbike ride?”

Lance stared at him again before smiling.

“Yeah. Yeah, I would.”

* * *

They got breakfast first, laughing and chatting with their family like they always did. Several family members now worked at the Garrison and had to leave early, but they all looked askance when Keith mentioned he and Lance would be taking out the old hoverbikes.

“Dad, are you sure?” Lance’s oldest daughter said, looking her father up and down and biting her lip. “I mean, no offense to you guys or anything, but your reflexes aren’t exactly what they used to be.”

“What part of that statement was _not_ supposed to be offensive?” Lance demanded.

“The part where you were once great pilots, but now you’re past your prime?” she tried, giving him a winning smile that she had obviously inherited from the man himself.

“I think we can handle a few minutes on our own,” Keith said, trying not to grin too much around his coffee cup when Lance flailed indignantly. He smiled at Lance’s daughter innocently, noticing the way her sharp eyes caught the expression on his face.

“Fine,” she finally said. “But if you two are gone for more than an hour, I’m sending a search party.”

They agreed, even though Lance did his usual grumbling about how _he_ was supposed to be the parent here. Keith kept silent, wondering if there would be anything left for their families to search for. He could still remember the smile on Shiro’s face from his dream the night before.

_“Time to come home.”_

_“So pushy, old man! I thought ‘patience yields focus?’” he’d teased, enjoying watching Shiro laugh at him again._

_“I think we’ve been patient enough.”_

_A resounding roar of agreement had echoed around them, waking him up, and he’d laughed in delight._

Now, he and Lance were being babied through checklists that they used to do in their sleep; Lance scowling at his overprotective daughter as he reminded her that _he_ had been the one to teach _her_ how to ride one of these things, thank you very much—

“Yeah, I know, Dad. But if anything goes wrong, just remember to get us on the sat phone,” she insisted, biting her lip. “Maybe I should come with you….”

“We’ll be fine,” Keith assured her, giving her a quick hug. He looked back at the porch where a few more members of their family were gathered, all of them looking a little worried about the two old men going into the desert alone. He and Lance hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to everyone, but they’d had words with most of their family. He smiled. It was nice to be so loved.

It almost broke his heart to know what this was going to do to them…. Surely, he could give them a hint? After all, _not_ knowing had always been the worst part of having loved ones go away.

“Hey, Kira,” he called to his oldest granddaughter, the one who always had a cosmic wolf by her side (including now), and the only one of his kids to have the Galra skin tone and purple hair of his mother. He was still sure her name was a play on the name of his TV show character, but his son swore up and down that it wasn’t. She was also the only member of his family to show interest in joining the Blades, which was why he didn’t feel bad when he reached behind himself and pulled out his knife, tossing it to her gently. “Take care of that for me.”

Her big, golden eyes went round and her lip trembled at the implications while she clutched the luxite blade to her chest. Keith had always vowed he’d keep that knife on him, even on his deathbed.

“Papa Keith….”

“Hey now, no tears, guys,” Lance said jovially, making his way through the little crowd and ruffling his youngest son’s hair. “We’ll see each other again. We just gotta go meet some old friends is all.”

“But—but, Dad!” his daughter protested, looking in between them desperately as everyone slowly caught on that they weren’t planning on coming back. She faltered, seeing their calm, happy smiles. “But… oh, I should’ve made your favorite waffles—come back inside. We can call—”

“It’s time for us to go, mija,” Lance said softly, kissing her forehead. “Love you.” She trembled, holding him tight, and he chuckled as he pulled away. “But you guys should definitely have garlic knots for supper. Those things are the bomb!”

Their family rushed forward for another round of hugs and whispered reassurances that yes, this was what they wanted, and yes, everything was going to be all right.

“We’ll catch you guys on the other side!” Lance said cheerfully, finally pulling away.

“Don’t wait up for us,” Keith agreed, mounting his hoverbike and giving them all a nod.

“Love you all!” Lance called, starting up his own.

They looked back once, waved, and then they were speeding off into the desert.

Keith could feel the years lifting off him as he flew towards the wilderness. Beside him, Lance whooped and gunned it, faster than anything they’d done in years. Keith found himself grinning as he matched him, the two of them racing across the red rocks and sand. They chased each other for what felt like hours, jumping rocks and riverbeds, and calling out challenges and insults as they kicked up a red haze of dust and dirt around them.

It was just like old times. He could almost hear Hunk’s babbling.

“Ohhhh my God, you guys are crazy! This is not fun! Not fun! Rock, Lance!! LANCE! _ROCK_!!”

“Just hang on, buddy!” Lance called back, his early-life cockiness back in full. Keith would swear his hair even looked brown again, the lines disappearing from his face. Lance took the jump around the rock like a pro, howling his delight even louder, while the big form of Hunk clung to the back of his bike.

Keith laughed at his friends, and his breath only caught for a moment when he felt Pidge’s small arms around his waist.

“Faster, Keith!” she yelled in his ear. “No way are we losing to Lance!”

“Not in a million years,” he agreed, gunning his bike faster.

“HEY!” they heard their teammates yell as they overtook them easily. Keith threw his head back and laughed with abandon, his joy overflowing when another figure caught up to him on his own hoverbike.

“Think you can take me, old-timer?” Shiro teased, revving his engine.

“Who you callin’ an old-timer?” Keith shot back. “Bring it on, _Space Dad!”_

He heard laughter all around himself for that one; Shiro on his left, Lance and Hunk on his right, and Pidge still clinging to him. The wind was in his hair, the sun was beating down, and above—above he saw the shadow of a very familiar shape descending on them. He blinked against the glare of the sun, but he couldn’t make out which color Lion it was. He supposed it didn’t matter, in the end, judging from the cheers coming from his friends.

“You all are _ridiculous_ ,” he heard Allura’s voice in his ear, as though he still had his helmet on and she was on the bridge of the castle. She was trying to sound proper, but he could hear the underlying fondness in her tone.

Vaguely, he wondered if Coran would be waiting for them as well. They hadn’t heard from him in a while.

“We’re picking him up next,” Pidge said in his ear. “Lance wanted to try haunting him for a few years first!”

“Heck yes, I did!” Lance cheered.

Keith laughed. That did sound like fun.

There was a cliff coming up. He exchanged a grin with Shiro and Lance.

“Oh no. Ohhh nooo. Oh NOOOOO!!” he heard Hunk screaming as they all took the jump at full speed. Behind him, Pidge was shrieking with laughter. Lance and Shiro were whooping, even as a giant lion head appeared in front of them.

Its yellow eyes glowed for a second before opening its mouth wide to swallow them whole.

* * *

_“In other news, the last surviving members of the Legendary Defenders of the Universe: Team Voltron, Keith Kogane and Lance McClain, went missing today during a leisure trip into the desert, just a few miles from their house. Search parties have combed the local area, but so far—”_

The TV switched off.

“Momma?” Kira asked, looking up from where she was polishing her new knife.

Her mother wiped a few stray tears away and gave her daughter a smile. “Let’s get started on those garlic knots, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

**Author's Note:**

> In the midst of all this fear and chaos, I needed to write something to remind myself: "be not afraid."  
> Stay strong and be safe, my friends!


End file.
